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Stevens Prosecutors Messed Up Other Alaska Corruption Cases
It looks like it wasn't just the Ted Stevens case in which Justice Department prosecutors screwed up.
Attorney General Eric Holder has found similar missteps in the convictions of two former Alaska state representatives, Victor Kohring and Peter Kott, and has asked that the two be released from prison, reports the AP.
Those convictions sprang from the same wide-ranging probe of corruption in Alaska politics. It was also the same DOJ prosecution team. Five of the six prosecutors in the Stevens case -- William Welch, Joseph Bottini, James Goeke, Nicholas Marsh, and Edward Sullivan -- ran the Kohring and Kott prosecutions.
Holder is not asking that the charges being dropped, but instead is asking a federal appeals court to send the cases back to the trial judge, acknowledging that the government failed to turn over key evidence to the defense -- the very misstep that doomed the Stevens prosecution. Indeed, Holder's move was the result of a review that he ordered as a result of the Stevens case.
The judge from the Stevens case has ordered a separate investigation into the prosecutorial misconduct on that case, to determine whether to bring contempt charges.
Kohring and Kott were both convicted in 2007 of bribery and extortion-related charges. Kohring was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, and Kott was sentenced to six years in prison.
Josh
Zachary
Ok Mr.Holder. How about the Siegelman case? We know that you are finding the Alaska screw ups and possible criminality. What about the cesspool that is Alabama?
June 4, 2009 8:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, Don Siegelman deserves this attention, too. Or are the Obama people so #@ worried about bipartisanship--meaning kiss the GOP--that they can't be bothered with one little Democrat?
June 4, 2009 8:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Siegelman, Siegelman, Siegelman.
If Holder doesn't do the right thing (based on support from 50+ US Attorneys and Attorneys General)I will completely give on the Obama era. The 'investigation' that said he deserved 20 years was obviously a set-up job.
June 4, 2009 9:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
What's the real story here? Why did Republicans go after Republicans. That never happens without a reason...
June 4, 2009 9:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Actually, it seems that the Republicans investigated the Republicans so they could be sure things were so munged up that they'd have to be let off.
Or am I just being cynical?
June 5, 2009 5:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Holder just needs to give the Justice Department a huge enema and flush out all of the scumbags brought in during the Bush years.
June 4, 2009 11:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Bush, Cheney, Rove and Gonzo truly were the enemas of the state. Now about that Siegelman case my colleagues above had mentioned?
June 5, 2009 12:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
GOT GOOD NEWS FOR YOU ALL. Holder is doing this housekeeping first in order, so that when he lets Siegelman go for the same prosecutorial misconduct, Holder has cover, by saying he already did it for Repubs.
June 5, 2009 1:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
Will be happy if that is true, but I'm not holding my breath.
Holder doesn't need any cover to review the Siegelman case, other than the obvious misconduct in the Siegelman case itself.
June 5, 2009 1:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
Just remember folks. These are Civil Servants and have many more rights than the rest of us common folk, so don't for a moment believe these guys will be fired and/or disbarred.
That only happens in private work, not public. Bet you thought this was a democracy with equal justice for all... didn't you...
June 5, 2009 1:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
I understand your cynicism but I don't completely share it. I do think lawyers' heads will eventually roll, either by criminal prosecutions or disbarments. But it will probably take some time due to the politics involved.
In my opinion, somebody big has to go to jail. It's unfortunate, because I don't like sending people to prison, but I think it must happen, for deterrence if nothing else. So pack your toothbrush, Dick, your Torture Tour may come to an ignominious end.
Bush-Cheney did a lot of damage to the legal profession (along with everything else in the world).
June 5, 2009 7:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, yeah! Well I just saw Liz Cheney spewing venom through my television, and she said that's not true at all!! She's real TV expert too!!
June 5, 2009 8:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
Where is the Judge in these cases? Isn't he the one who can impose sanctions and fines? If he does that, maybe the AG can fire them. He certainly would have grounds. The Siegelman case is really goofy. The USA in Pa. just dropped the political prosecution of Cyril Wecht and the Siegelman case is the same kind of prosecution. It's funny how the 'holier than thou, rule of law guys' find ways to be deceitful and break the ruls of law.
June 5, 2009 8:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
Widespread Bush era politicized hiring have left a federal bureaucracy unwilling to competently perform its duties. Holder and the rest of Obama's administrators have to put performance review and removal of burrowers high on their list of priorities.
June 5, 2009 8:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
I suggest that the headline, here and elsewhere, be a bit clearer. This is DoJ newly discoverng old errors, not committing new errors. It is important to make the distinction: this is yet another example of the damage done by the previous administration. A casual reader would take away the belief that the Obama DoJ under Holder is doing terrible.
June 5, 2009 8:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
Ah, the Gonzalez DOJ...So much ineptitude, so little time!
June 5, 2009 9:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
Some Dude Named Stevo has a point. What is the real deal on this?
Sounds like what we really need is an investigation of investigative journalism.
Truth - Too expensive? Cost prohibitive? Lacking a stimulus package? Well hell, let's just salute the swastika and move on.
Justice - it left the building when Ashcroft covered the statue.
June 5, 2009 12:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
When you can tell us what Holder objected to, and show how significant or insignificant his objections are, that'll be great.
June 5, 2009 4:13 PM | Reply | Permalink